Month: December 2011

A touch of nostalgia hits me when I listen to Good Old War. Back in the days of emo and angst, I used to spin Days Away records quite frequently. I am no longer in high school and Days Away no longer exist, replaced in large part by Good Old War (two of the three founders played in Days Away). The Philly based band has a new record due out in March and the first single, “Calling Me Names” was just released. If you enjoyed the band’s past efforts you will find plenty to love in this track.

I was introduced to The Smiles earlier this year through their insanely catchy, breezy “Cala Cola.” Now under a different name, the band has a new EP that is free on bandcamp. Check out “Pretend” below and head over to their bandcamp page to find both their EP’s for free. Think beach rock with some Vampire Weekend preppiness, Beach Boys sensibility and a dash of Good Old War.

Whether it’s a band’s debut (thank you bandcamp!), leftovers from a previous album, or a taste of what’s to come, the EP serves a number of different purposes. A handful of our favorite artists released short albums in 2011, hit the jump to check out our favorites.

With all due respect to Mark Ruffalo, Memoryhouse would like to state for the record that in fact the kids are not all right. They were actually all wrong. To support this bold claim, Memoryhouse has a brand new song. Listen below, and download it with your email. I love it. Memoryhouse’s debut LP comes out on February 28th, via Sub Pop.

The remix was not born in 2011, but maybe this was the year it finally came into its’ own. Remixes, like Keanu Reeves memes and cat videos, infiltrated the internet like ants at a picnic. Check out Sloane’s favorite remixes and let 2012 bring even more awesome dubstep and electro/house reworkings.

For all of us waiting on a Blu & Exile release: Christmas comes early. The Producer/MC duo recorded this album in 2009 and have decided to release it now, unfinished, unmixed, and unmastered. This album has that rich and soulful Below The Heavens feel, with Exile’s impeccable production and dope samples combined with Blu’s bouncy, raw delivery, poetic phrasing, and deft rhyme skills. Stream below or support at Bandcamp.

Once considered an integral part of music packaging, album art has all but faded in the digital music age. The iPod has reduced 12 x 12 LP covers to thumbnails, pushing many artists to use large block print across plain backgrounds. How else are people going to know what they’re listening to? Sometimes simplicity is good, but thankfully for the vinyl aficionados of the world there are still artists who value the visual experience of owning an LP. Hit the jump to check out the covers that caught our eye in 2011.

Did you know that “Pop-Up Video” is back? Neither did we until a few hours ago, but even VH1 is trying to clamor to the music industry of yesteryear. Not that we’re complaining here at Sloane. I mean who wouldn’t want to know that Britney shaved her head during the filming of “Womanizer.” While we doubt any of our favorite videos of 2011 will be showing up on VH1 anytime soon, we do think they’ll keep you entertained for the next forty-odd minutes. From the animated, to the sentimental, to the really weird, we’ve got you covered. Have a a gander after the jump.